Share

Pienaar hammers Titans

Johannesburg - Obus Pienaar played the innings of his young life to frustrate the Nashua Titans on the opening day of the final round of SuperSport Series matches on Thursday.

Pienaar, 21, smashed his way to a career best unbeaten 199 for the Chevrolet Knights at Sahara Willowmoore Park for the visiting franchise to finish the day on 353/5 in only 84 overs.

Not only did Pienaar make a big score but he got the runs very quickly (176 balls, 31 fours and 4 sixes) and shared partnerships of 194 for the 5th wicket in only 33 overs with Adrian McLaren (66 off 96 balls with 9 fours and a six) and an unbroken 68 for the 6th wicket with Ryan McLaren in 16 overs.

Pienaar completed his 1 000th first-class run in only his 20th match and he also has more than 50 wickets to mark him down as one of South Africa’s most promising emerging all-rounders.

The Titans now find themselves in a position where they may struggle to get their full house of bowling bonus points, something they desperately need to win the title.

Their main challengers, the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras, also had a frustrating day at Boland Park where they lost overs first to a damp outfield and then to bad light but they nevertheless finished the day in control, having the Chevrolet Warriors 9 down for 196 after winning the toss.

Bevan Bennett (62 off 104 balls with 6 fours and a six) made the only score of consequence for the Warriors as the wickets where shared around. The Warriors never recovered from being 2 wickets down for 4 runs in the second over.

Only 61.3 overs were possible but the Cobras have taken the game forward significantly , picking up their full quota of bowling points in the last over of the day. They needed to use spin to counter the poor light and Claude Henderson led the way with figures of 4/55 in 15.3 overs.

The Nashua Dolphins had a good batting day at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead after winning the toss against the bizhub Highveld Lions. They reached 281/5 by the close off 99 overs.

Imraan Khan (59 off 181 balls with 8 fours) and Glen Addicott (50 off 82 balls with 8 fours) got them going with a fourth wicket stand of 79 and, although both batsmen were dismissed within the space of 2 runs, the Dolphins pushed ahead with an unbroken 6th wicket stand of 126 in 40.3 overs between Daryn Smit and David Miller.

The latter kept his best form for the last weekend of the season reaching the close unbeaten on 81 (137 balls, 10 fours) and reached 1 000 first-class runs in the process in his 27th first-class match.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE